LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fourth-ranked Louisville baseball team faces elimination when they take on No. 3 national seed Oregon State on Monday at 3 p.m., ET/2 p.m., CT at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on day three of the 2013 College World Series.

After dropping their 2013 CWS opener to Indiana on Saturday night, the Cardinals returned to the practice field on Sunday afternoon conducting a 90-minute open practice session at Creighton University. Following the practice, Louisville coaches and players met with reporters to preview Monday's matchup against the Beavers, who lost their CWS opener to Mississippi State on Saturday.

The winning team in Monday afternoon's elimination game will advance to another elimination game matchup against either Indiana or Mississippi State, while the losing squad will end its 2013 season.

SERIES OVERVIEW - OREGON STATE
Monday afternoon's elimination game matchup will be the first ever between Louisville and Oregon State on the baseball diamond. The Cardinals are 2-0 against Pac-12 competition this season having won a pair of midweek games against USC in March. Overall, Louisville is 3-7 all-time against current members of the Pac-12.

LAST OUTING
In an eerily similar performance to its season-opening loss to the same team, the fourth-ranked Louisville baseball team kicked off the 2013 College World Series by dropping a 2-0 decision to Indiana on Saturday night at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Though it was just the second shutout loss of the season for Louisville, it was the second time in 2013 they were held scoreless by Indiana after losing by the same 2-0 score on opening day (Feb. 15) in Dunedin, Fla. After managing just six hits in the first 2-0 loss to IU, the Cardinals finished with only four hits in Saturday's defeat.

Danny Hayes had a potential game-winning home run caught at the warning track and Michael Conforto became the first Oregon State player to get four hits at the NCAA College World Series, but the Beavers dropped the opening game to Mississippi State, 5-4, Saturday afternoon at TD Ameritrade Park.

LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- The Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in the latest Collegiate Baseball newspaper Top 30.
- With their NCAA Super Regional clinching win at Vanderbilt on June 9, the Cardinals surpassed the previous school record for wins (50 in 2010) earning victory No. 51 in 2013.
- Ranking among the nation's best pitching staffs entering the CWS, Louisville was fifth in the NCAA in ERA entering the week (current ERA is 2.49) and first in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.5.
- The Cardinals are second in the nation in stolen bases with 150, just three shy of matching the school record of 153 set during the 2007 CWS season.
- Adam Engel paces UofL on the bases with 41 steals (third nationally) in 54 attempts.
- Through the Cards' first six NCAA postseason games, Coco Johnson leads the offense hitting .350 with two HR, six RBI, .650 slugging and .458 on-base.
- In those six NCAA tournament games, 16 of the Cardinals' 31 RBI have come with two outs.
- UofL is 34-6 against righty starters and 17-7 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 39-5 when scoring first, including 21-3 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 36 of 64 games this season.
- UofL is 46-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
- Louisville leads the nation in hit-by-pitch with 128 and Coco Johnson (23 HBPs, seventh in NCAA) leads the way for the Cardinals.
- With an 11-1 record overall, righty Jeff Thompson has won five of his last six starts. During that stretch, he has 46 strikeouts, a 2.36 ERA in 42 innings pitched.